Elizabeth Jackson story
by surfroxy99
Summary: We'll its my Grandmothers story she told me when I was younger. she sadly died last year so I decided to write a story in her honour it is a true story except for the name I think she would rather keep that a secret! I hope you like it :)


English Story

My name is Miss Elizabeth Jackson and I am a survivor of the Titanic and this is my story…

It was my 14th birthday when I boarded the Titanic in Southampton on the 10th April 1912. I had never been on a boat before but there is a first time for everything. I was travelling with my family, we were going to New York to see my Grandparents. I was so excited, I hadn't seen them in two years since they moved there because of a business opportunity for my Grandfather. I was scared of going on the ship because I was told they sink but my brother reassured me that this ship was unsinkable! My mother and I were shown to our room by one of the crew.

My brothers went exploring and I asked to go, but they said you're a girl you can't come! Of course this was a typical excuse from my brothers just because they are jealous that they're not as good as girls! I went back inside to see my mother, she was busy deciding what pieces of art work to put up in her and Fathers bedroom, she soon decided with a famous piece by a foreign artist which I found extraordinary. When my brothers returned, I played chess with Michael who is England's number one, even though I knew I'd lose it was still something fun to do. I have two brothers the eldest Michael, is 16 and the youngest, Thomas, who is 12.

We went down to dinner at about half past 6. The dining room was magnificent, the tables covered in the finest cloth and adorned with England's best cutlery. The chandeliers on the ceiling glittered like diamonds. There was a fantastic open view of ocean. The food was delicious, and there were endless courses, my favourite a massive helping of strawberry and champagne trifle! When we finished dinner my family and I decided to take an evening stroll on deck. It was a beautiful night I could feel the chill of the air on my neck. As I looked up at the sky it was a clear night and I was amazed by the brightness of the stars, how they lit up the dark ocean before us. It became too cold to stay on deck so we decided to retire to our rooms for the night. I could not sleep because I was so excited about seeing my Grandparents. As I lay on my bed I could hear the ocean hit against the boat like God's whisper.

A few days later I was in my room, we had just had dinner and we were about to go to bed when there was a rather worrying knock at the door, it was one of the crew he shouted something at my mother. I didn't really catch what he said, but my mother quickly ran to my brothers' rooms and told them to get our father. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew whatever it was, was bad. When I asked my mother all she told me was to get a lifejacket, but I didn't know what a lifejacket was because I'd never been on a boat before. Soon my father returned and ran to a cupboard and brought out 5 white sponge type things, apparently they were lifejackets, which didn't look very impressive.

My Father hurried us to the top deck and got us in line for a lifeboat, I still didn't know what was happening! Suddenly I heard a man cry out "Iceberg, we've hit one!" we soon found a spare lifeboat, but there was only room for 3 of us. I began to cry, I didn't want to leave my parents, but my brother Michael took my hand and told me it would be alright. My father turned to my brother and said "You're now the head of this family, be brave!" The lifeboat suddenly started to move and we were nearly at the water.

We rowed till we could just see the Titanic in the distance. I caught a glimpse of people jumping off the edge of the boat to get away. I felt so lucky to be one of the few to get to safety in a lifeboat, but this made me start to think about Mother and Father and how scared they must feel. I didn't want to think about it though. They might be fine, there were other lifeboats and they may have been able to get a space on one of them. Soon the Titanic was swallowed by the sea and nothing was left except the bodies of the lost. I began to feel cold, I could see that my brother Thomas was shivering and could not stop. Michael tried to keep us warm, but because he was cold himself, it didn't work. I whispered to him, "I thought you said it was unsinkable?"

"I was wrong!" he mumbled.

We kept rowing until the crew member who was in charge of our lifeboat called out something, suddenly we could see in the near distance a light, it then became clear to us what it was, a ship! We were told to scream and shout at the top of our lungs. We did this until the ship spotted us and brought us on board. When the people on the ship saw us they couldn't believe what had happened. They said they had seen flashing lights in the distance but thought they were fireworks.

When the ship sailed into New York we were taken to the train station where our Grandparents met us. It was an overwhelming reunion, they were so happy to see us. We went back to their house, where they told us they hadn't heard anything about are parents, so there was still hope! After weeks of waiting the news came, but it wasn't what we'd hoped, sadly our Mother and Father had perished in the terrible disaster and their bodies were not found in the wreckage.

As long as I live I will remember the day the unsinkable ship was taken by the black ocean, and I will never be able to forget the screams of terror and cries of pain.


End file.
